The 21 best sports bars in Chicago

Established in 2008, this West Town sports bar’s popularity helped launch a local empire, the Fifty/50 Restaurant Group. Join the fun on weekends, when the lively crowds are always passionate about football and the action spills out onto the sidewalk patio. And don’t skip the jumbo buffalo wings—they’re among the best in the city. The hot sauce is produced from four kinds of peppers and aged for weeks.

Whether 11am or 11pm, it’s hard to find a seat at this North Center Brit pub. Call it European-style drinking, buffered by U.K. pub grub. During soccer and rugby matches, the crowd of regulars vacillates between raucous and downright scary, but fair-weather fans are welcome to join the zoo.

Housed in what was once an auto repair garage, this Logan Square sports club has plenty of charm. The space is modeled after a ‘50s gymnasium and boasts touches like a vintage pommel horse, a scoreboard, Chesterfield sofas and hanging chandeliers. But the main attraction is outside on the 6,000-square-foot, all-seasons patio. It’s equipped with fire pits, bocce ball courts and a camper that has been converted into a bar. On Saturdays and Sundays, stop by for bottomless boozy brunch while football plays on the big screens.

Run by the same folks behind gin-centric cocktail bar Scofflaw, the Moonlighter is a casual beer and burger spot in Logan Square. Expect unfussy game day snacks like wings and giant pretzels served with beer cheese, plus a good number of sour beers and frozen drinks. When the weather’s nice, hang out on the spacious patio with your favorite furry companion.

A partnership between Draftkings and the Chicago Cubs, this entertainment venue, restaurant and bar at Wrigley Field is one of the best spots to watch sports. A massive 2,000-square-foot screen—paired with a state-of-the-art sound system—can show up to 25 games at once, and there’s mezzanine theater-style seating that provides unobstructed sightlines. Guests can also place bets while enjoying shareable bar fare and cocktail towers. 

Wings are one of the ultimate game day eats and few places do it better than Jake Melnick’s. Yes, the burgers and barbecue are commendable but you’re here for the chicken. They’re meaty, crispy and slathered in a variety of different sauces. For those who like their food insanely spicy, the XXXX wings are made with habanero, ghost, scorpion and reaper peppers. It’s definitely not suggested unless you’re a glutton for punishment; we recommend the much more manageable firecracker wings.

Function trumps form and comfort at this woody, yet cavernous Cubbie corral and outdoor stable (er, patio) behind the Friendly Confines. The clientele of former frat brothers and sorority sisters wants its alma mater’s game on the TV and it wants it now—not a problem considering the prevalence of flat-screens.

With 90 craft beers on tap and rotating handles for seasonal releases, there’s always something new to discover at Old Town Pour House (especially since it offers six-ounce tasting pours). The sprawling space has high ceilings, huge televisions and classic wood accents that help elevate it above the typical sports bar experience. That refinement extends to the food as well, where you’ll find items like kung pao cauliflower, Korean sliders and Nashville hot mac and cheese with spicy chorizo.

Two floors, a recently revamped interior, more than 40 screens and a retractable roof make Benchmark one of the preeminent places to watch a game in Old Town. Be sure to grab a seat upstairs when it’s warm out. The approachable food menu appeals to all with tavern-style pizzas, handhelds and an indulgent skillet cookie, while cocktails lean on tried-and-true classics like the espresso martini, Aperol spritz and old fashioned.

A sleek and elevated sports bar where you can watch your favorite team while ordering a fancy cocktail, No Vacancy is more than just a typical neighborhood haunt. Sip on concoctions like Do Not Disturb (mezcal, green chartreuse, Maraschino) and nosh on creative gameday bites such as birria egg rolls, pretzel-crusted chicken tenders and jackfruit sliders.

There’s space for groups of all sizes in Broken Barrel’s 2,000-square foot beer garden, where you can watch sports, play bags or just hang out while enjoying a burger and a plate of wings. The dog-friendly space is decorated with graffiti art and has its own bar slinging frozen cocktails and pineapple palomas served in pouches. Heat lamps keep the space bustling even when the temperatures plunge.

Billing itself as an upscale sports lounge and restaurant, Theory boasts more than 35 televisions so you won’t have to miss a minute of the action. On Saturdays in the fall, University of Iowa fans congregate here for football and nacho bites, loaded waffle fries, wings and sliders. There’s also a solid whiskey selection and ode to Iowa City known as the Martinis Mule. 

With patio bocce ball, classic bar bites and an impressive whiskey list, Cleo's is the quintessential sports bar on Chicago Avenue in West Town. Grab some friends and pull up on the weekends for international soccer matches into the early morning (open until 4am on the weekends).

This hockey-centric spot replaced one of the neighborhood's most popular sports bars, the Ogden, in 2023. Blackhawks fans will feel right at home—there's tons of memorabilia decorating the space—as they watch Connor Bedard and company on any of the 50 TVs. The menu features your usual bar staples, including wings, smash burgers and pizzas, alongside creative cocktails and a solid beer list.

Good food and cold beer is what the sign outside the Pony Inn promises, and it’s exactly what the bar delivers. Get the Clydesdale, a 16-inch grilled cheese served with tomato basil dip, to soak up the suds and head up to the second floor for a nice breeze when the retractable roof is open. In addition to supporting Chicago’s pro teams, the bar is also a haven for fans of schools including Kentucky, Texas A&M and Central Florida.

Escape to the great outdoors Wisconsin-style with your Leinenkugel, Point or Sprecher and shoot the breeze under the watchful eye of the giant moose that stands sentry. Friends meet at picnic tables, tunes float out from the jukebox (Phish and fowl with "Free Bird" represented) and the occasional neighborhood Labrador mingles with the regulars.

The paint's chipping off the walls here and there, the bathroom is a claustrophobe's nightmare, and if it's busy, you might be forced to belly up to a folding table. Then again, this surprisingly spacious bar is filled with so many flat-screen and projection TVs and fills our stomachs with enough good bar food that we almost don't notice.

Located a few blocks away from Guaranteed Rate Field, Cork & Kerry is a popular gathering destination before and after Sox games. So put on your José Abreu jersey and visit this Irish pub for endless supplies of beer and egg rolls filled with corned beef, cabbage and cheese. All are welcome, except Cubs fans.

We certainly understand why this bar is packed with suits after quitting time. The tall bay windows allow for a fantastic view of the city, there are plenty of beers on tap, and the menu (which is on offer from breakfast through dinner) is an expansive collection of better-than-average pub grub. Just don't come expecting old-school Dublin; it's more like an upscale sports lounge, Chicago-style.

The corner where this North Center tap sits has been a neighborhood hot spot since Prohibition: the former Schulien's featured a basement speakeasy and a house magician. The ’hood has changed—today's O'Donovan's operates as a laid-back hangout for younger couples and small groups—but the tableside magic shows (and the occasional balloon sculptor) remain on weekends. Escape the crowds in the tucked-away beer garden, heated and enclosed in the winter.

If you're looking for a laid back sports bar, head to Guide's. This large bar has plenty of TVs to tune into the football game or baseball game, but there's also a pool table and a small refrigerator of beers for carryout. Whether you pull a seat up to the bar or hunker down at a table, just get a basket of wings and a pitcher of beer and you'll fit right in.